The Prophecy of Sanctuary
by CinderSootRed
Summary: SECOND FIC! 15 year-old Esperanza Aguas never questions things if it could promote change. Still, when you fall into the answer of your past,isn't it already to late to ask those questions? OCXHoward Please enjoy :D Also, rating is way off


A/N _My second fanfic! I hope this is pretty successful. I had the idea a long time ago and finally decided to act on it. Any way, please R&R. I really like constructive criticism and who doesn't love praise? Thanks a lot and enjoy!_

Essie yawned, eyes half-lidded, dozing off in her Spanish class. It wasn't fair really, she already _knew_ the language quite fluently thanks to her Dad and his side of the family, but regardless she had to get those dang credits. She hoped her name would excuse her, it being Esperanza Aguas, but NO. She normally couldn't sleep, but when their was nothing else to do… She lazily rested her head in her arms, her black-cropped hair acting as a small blanket.

" Esperanza?" Essie felt a gently shake at the shoulder, "What?" she groaned.

"Have you finished the assignment?" "Yes Miss Ricardo," She looked up to face her teacher, handing Miss Ricardo the sheet. Miss Ricardo just smiled and shook her head playfully, "Then go ahead and get your stuff from your locker. You can leave early, _again_." Essie immediately perked up.

_Score! Now I can stop at the coffee shop and enjoy something at the park._ She looked around to see if anyone in her fellow sophomore class was done to go with her. Her friends jokingly shook their fists at her, one waving her a good-bye. Laughing, she ran out of the class, carrying her bag on her shoulder.

"Thanks Miss Ricardo!" Essie stopped at her locker, packing up all her books. _Wow, why is it BARELY Monday?!_ She finally got out of the hall and started walking away from Central New York High School. The streets were as busy as they usually were, the crowded city buzzing with noise. She hummed to herself, not bothering to pull out her iPod yet. Essie ran eagerly and bought a hot chocolate, not really in a mood for coffee, at the little café near the park.

Essie sat down at the bench in park, which was only about a five-minute walk away from her apartment complex. She had been her a lot, since she was little, eventually coming with her friends and by herself, as she grew older. Being able to play with kids at the park really helped her not feel lonely without sibling and her parents working a lot. Essie's Mom worked at a music store and her Dad was an executive officer for some electronics company, Static something….

She sipped at her coco, instantly smiling at the warmth. The cold winds were biting at her face and her extra clothing had little effect in keeping her warm.

_Please don't snow right now,_ Essie pleaded with nature, which in turn just mocked her by causing more wind.

Essie stood up and started walking, hoping the circulation would prevent her from freezing. School was probably out by now, so maybe her friends would want to hang out.

"Hey Mom?" Essie said into her cell phone, her hands instantly regretting touching the phones icy surface. Essie did have pale skin, which seemed to work well with the weather. The sun just made her burn.

Her mother had the same skin, accept with violet eyes and blondish hair accenting it. Essie really wished she had what her mom called "an eye disorder" to have that eye color. Instead she had grayish eyes, which Essie found a dull combo of her Dad's brown and Mom's purple eyes.

"Essie honey?"

"Hey, I'm at the park Mom. I think I'll hang out with Ellen and Rae tonight, so don't worry about me okay?"

"Okay honey. Oh and _try_ to remember to call me from one of there houses this time."

"I said I was sorry for that! Okay bye Mom."

"Bye, have fun."

Essie hung up, happy that she could soon be somewhere warm, now that her coco was done and she was getting hungry. She was about to call up the two girls she planned to be with when something familiar caught her eye.

It was a large rock, surrounded by a few bushes. Essie remembered the rock being more of a monstrous mountain that entertained her for hours to climb. Her Mom used to always come read on the rock, saying to Essie it reminded her of home.

"_It's very cool and not sunny where I lived,"_ Tara told her eight-year-old daughter, Esperanza.

"What was the place called? Was it like this city Mommy?" Essie asked scaling the rock, to sit on her mother's lap. Tara laughed, grabbing Essie and placing her on her lap.

"_Oh, no. I left my city, because I wanted to explore the Over-- world. I came from a great majestic city, Regalia. I do rather miss it, but my family all had moved on there own and resented me for moving away," _Then she laughed once more, _"That's why we don't visit them. Then I meet your father and we decided it was best to live here."_

"Well, I don't like them either then!" Essie stated. She had no idea what 'resented' or 'majestic' meant, but anybody who didn't like her mommy, well that just wasn't right.

"_Oh I love them and they love me. And this rock…well it reminds me I can still visit them."_

Being a little child, Essie nodded her head, not understanding at all what her Mommy meant. She guessed it was maybe her favorite rock, like a present that maybe Mommy's parents had given her. The city her Mom used to live in sometimes entered her mind now that she was older, but Essie, not knowing her geography, assumed maybe it was somewhere in Europe or something.

To children, hours could be minutes, days could be months, small was huge and so forth. That same "gigantic boulder" was now more a memorable rock. _Hmm, this rock seems a lot more moveable now…_

She sat on the rock, wobbling it under her a bit.

Essie gasped as it just about tipped over, both by her pulling and the biting wind. There was part of a hole reveled, causing herself to get all the more curious. Essie finally pulled off the rest of the rock, which did turn out _pretty _large and heavy. Essie stood panting a little, with her hands on her hips as she relished her success.

Eventually, she got around to looking down the hole, on her belly. She peered down the black gap, unable to see or hear anything. Essie tentatively put down her arm trying to feel for a wall or some dirt but could only feel…. _emptiness_. It was so weird. Essie stood up and decided she'd stick her leg down a bit. _ Just drop down a little; it can't be THAT big of a hole._

And so she hung, her body in the hole, dangling on the edge. _Maybe, this is some fort or something. Well, worth to explore._

So Essie let go.

Hey, I hope I didn't make my story to cliché so she's NOT going to meet Gregor until later. I decided to make her a halflander (Like Hazard), so she could get an angle that isn't "random girl with no knowledge about the city" thing out of the way.

Next chapter up soon!

Also thanks to the admin's of 'The Underland chronicles' unofficial forum website! ; D I've really enjoyed your stories.


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